Legendary singer Asha Bhosle on Friday also spoke up for tennis star Sania Mirza. She also tweeted, “Sania Mirza is being dragged into unnecessary controversy. I too was once labelled anti-national by a politician. I found that quite funny.”

On Wednesday, Telangana BJP leader K. Laxman had criticised the state for appointing Mirza its brand ambassador saying she is a non-local and “daughter-in-law” of Pakistan.

Veteran actress and social activist Shabana Azmi too took to Twitter to express her views on the same.

She tweeted: “From d start I said reining in its lunatic fringe will b a challenge for @narendramodi Shiv Sena BJP MPs at it again Mhrstra Sadan n Sania. The true test of a liberal is when she is attacked by both Muslim and Hindu bigots. Javed and I constantly face the wrath of both. Terrific!” (With IANS inputs)